Congratulations! There is nothing more exciting than becoming a homeowner for the first time. If you just bought a house that needs some minor repairs, you may be thinking about taking on some home improvement projects to make it your own.
The problem is that many first home buyers get too overzealous, don’t budget correctly, or end up putting a lot more money into a renovation than need be. Before you embark on your renovation journey, make sure you know where you are going to avoid these five ways that you can waste money.
Landscaping
It is not uncommon to underestimate the cost of landscaping. Before you dig in to make the exterior of your home look beautiful, make sure that you aren’t going overboard.
It is important to have curbside appeal and to be happy when you drive up to your home, but you can quickly find yourself spending thousands of dollars on beautifying the outdoors.
Going overboard to make the exterior of your home through landscaping isn’t going to have a return on your investment. Make a plan, but make sure to have it priced out before just “going for it”.
High-end appliances
Most homebuyers have visions of having the perfect kitchen, which includes all the latest in high-tech and expense appliances. Sometimes you can get too caught up in name brands to realize that you are paying way more than you have to.
Before you replace any appliance, think about how much you have to spend before you go shopping. All those high-tech innovations may be nice, but they are probably not necessary.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that the way to make your home look spectacular is to overspend on unnecessary appliances that carry nothing more than a high-priced emblem.
Check: Mistakes to Avoid for First Time Home Renovation Projects
Making your home high efficiency
Many homeowners look at old homes and think that they can do themselves a great service by making the house more “energy efficient”, so they invest in new doors.
The problem is that they may be doing themselves a disservice. Likely, the little money that you are losing through a drafty door will never add up to the cost of replacing your windows and doors.
Also, the energy efficient replacements are going to cost a whole lot more than those that don’t tout themselves as money savers. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can save pennies by spending hundreds.
Bad insurance
When you are in the process of buying a house, you want to make sure that everything is done, and done on time. That means getting your home insurance in line for closing. The mistake that many homeowners make is not to shop around for insurance quotes but use either the one that their real estate agent or their mortgage lender recommends.
It may not seem like a big deal at the time, but several hundreds of dollars to sometimes even thousands can be hidden in overpriced insurance or riders that you may not need or that aren’t even required.
Make sure that in your haste to buy your new home, you didn’t sign yourself up for an additional expense that you don’t need and isn’t doing you any good.
Related: Common Things that First Time Home Buyers Neglect to Think About
Throwing money at new when the old is functional
When homebuyers get into their homes, they want it to look fresh and updated. Sometimes that can have redoing things or replacing things that don’t need it. If something is functional in your home, try not to be overzealous and replace it until you need to.
Your home will become your dream home in time, but replacing things that don’t need to be replaced, is not worth it. All it does it take away from your monthly budget and spend money that isn’t necessary.
Buying a new home is expensive enough. Even if you put money aside to redo your home, some things are worth it and then others that are not. Prioritize where to spend your money and don’t be in a rush to redo everything at once. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it, or you are just throwing your money out your inefficient energy window.